THOUSANDS of animals have been infected with deadly diseases including Ebola and the plague in "grotesque" experiments funded by the British government, it can be revealed.

Rabbits and monkeys are just some of the thousands of animals being tested at Porton Down laboratory

Ministry of Defence (MoD) researchers have tested on 4,124 monkeys, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs and rodents in the last year alone.

They all died during the torturous process, which can last months, while others were slaughtered at the end of tests, which have sparked fury from animal rights campaigners.

The greusome testing has seen marmoset monkeys infected with haemorrhagic fever, macaques infected with Tuberculosis, mice given Ebola and pneumonic plague, and rabbits forced to endure infected wounds.

Animals are abused in the Government-owned Porton Down laboratory in Salisbury, Wiltshire, to improve medical treatments within the military.

Previous experiments carried out at the laboratory include pigs being blown up or exposed to lethal chemical warfare agents such as phosgene and sulphur mustard, and marmosets infected with anthrax and guinea pigs poisoned with toxic nerve agents.

Animal rights group Cruelty Free International claim details of these warfare experiments are not included in annual animal-testing statistics published by the Home Office meaning many people will have no idea the suffering is taking place.

CRUELTY FREE INTERNATIONAL

3,411 mice were tested on in 2014 at Porton Down laboratory

We believe the public will be as horrified as we are

Katy Taylor, Cruelty Free International

But the figures reveal there were 3,411 mice, 223 rats, 323 guinea pigs, 100 pigs and 67 non-human primates were tested on in just one year.

That equals more than 11 animals being tested and dying every day.

Katy Taylor director of science at animal rights charity Cruelty Free International, said: “We believe the public will be as horrified as we are to learn the full extent of the suffering inflicted upon thousands of animals every year in these disturbing tests.

“Although Cruelty Free International supports the need to ensure the safety of soldiers and civilians, we do not believe that subjecting animals to such grotesque experiments is the way to achieve this.”

The gruesome testing has seen mice injected with human blood, forced into small restraint tubes and forced to inhale bacteria that causes the pneumonic plague.

CRUELTY FREE INTERNATIONAL

The animals are tested for military purposes on behalf of the Ministry of Defence

They were observed for two weeks to see how fast they succumbed to the deadly disease and either died or were killed at the point of death.

Another sickening test saw marmoset monkeys suffer bleeding eyes, rashes and difficulty breathing after they were tortured to death for up to ten days by researchers studying haemorrhagic fever.

Ebola researchers infected 18 genetically modified mice with the disease and split them into three groups.

Only one group received treatment, while the others slowly died seven to eight days later.